January 15, 2025 5:14 PM

Gaza ceasefire still elusive as negotiators try to hammer out deal

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East. More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fuelled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages w...

January 14, 2025 8:39 AM

Gaza ceasefire deal close after ‘breakthrough’ in Doha

 Negotiators will meet in Doha on Tuesday seeking to finalise details of a plan to end the war in Gaza after U.S. President Joe Biden said a ceasefire and hostage release deal he has championed was on "the brink" of coming to fruition. Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both the outgoing U.S. president and President-elect Donald Trump. "The deal .....

January 10, 2025 9:54 AM

US House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over Israel

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court to protest its issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza. The vote was 243 to 140 in favor of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of ...

January 6, 2025 8:54 AM

Hamas and Israel wrangle over talks as Israeli strikes in Gaza intensify

Israel and Hamas wrangled on Sunday over the details of a deal to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip and return hostages home, as Palestinian officials said intensified Israeli bombardments had killed more than 100 people over the weekend. A Hamas official said the group had approved a list of 34 Israeli hostages to be returned as part of a deal that could eventually lead to a ceasefire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office swiftly issued a statement saying Hamas had not provided a hos...

January 4, 2025 5:28 PM

Israeli airstrikes push up Gaza death toll amid new truce push

Israel has carried out airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, it said on Friday, in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed more than 110 people in two days. The surge in operations and casualties comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyp...

January 2, 2025 9:05 AM

Israel continues strikes in northern Gaza on New Year, 15 killed, 20 injured

Israeli forces continued their strikes on Jabalia in Northern Gaza, killing 15 people and injuring 20 others on Wednesday (local time), France 24 reported. The Israeli forces have been continuously targeting the town of Jabalia in recent months. Gaza's civil defence agency stated that an Israeli airstrike targeting a house resulted in the deaths of 15 people. The Israeli military has said it has been conducting these strikes to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping, according to France 24. E...

December 31, 2024 9:43 AM

Israel, at UN, warns Houthis risk sharing same fate as Hamas, Hezbollah

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations issued on Monday what he called a final warning to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks on Israel, saying they risked the same "miserable fate" as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria's Bashar al-Assad if they persisted. The ambassador, Danny Danon, also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran. He added that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies. But hours l...

December 30, 2024 11:30 AM

IDF eliminates Hamas terrorists involved in October 7 massacre

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the elimination of six Hamas terrorists directly involved in the October 7 massacre in Israel, during targeted operations in Gaza's Jabaliya and Beit Lahia regions. The joint operations, conducted in collaboration with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), resulted in the deaths of key individuals responsible for the brutal attack. Those neutralized included Mohammed Abd al-Hamid Salah, Zaher Abd Rabbo Mohammed Shahab, Ali Magad Ali Ramadan, and Mohammed Ha...

December 29, 2024 3:12 PM

Israel detains 240 Palestinians including medics after Gaza hospital raid

Israeli forces detained more than 240 Palestinians including dozens of medical staff from a north Gaza hospital they raided on Friday, including its director, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave and Israel's military. The Health Ministry said it was concerned for the wellbeing of Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, as some staff freed by the Israeli military late on Friday said he had been beaten up by soldiers. The Israeli military said the hospital was being ...

December 24, 2024 3:44 PM

Israel asks diplomats to seek Houthis’ listing as terrorists

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen designated as a terrorist organisation. The Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what the group describes as acts of solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israeli forces in Gaza. The attacks have disrupted international shipping routes, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys that have in turn stoked fears over global inflation...